Brazil’s former president is rallying supporters in a show of political strength as the investigation into the alleged coup attempt gathers pace.

Tens of thousands of Brazilians have rallied in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro amid an investigation into allegations he tried to stage a coup following his 2022 election defeat.

Bolsonaro, who called the rally in Sao Paulo after he was Target of a police raid Earlier this month, he denied coup allegations on Sunday and imposed a voting ban that has barred him from running for eight years.

“What is a coup? Tanks on the streets, weapons, conspiracy. “None of this happened in Brazil,” Bolsonaro told his supporters who filled six blocks of Sao Paulo’s famous Avenida Paulista.

“We cannot accept that an authority can eliminate someone from the political scene unless it is for good reason,” he said.

Federal police in Brazil confiscated the former president’s passport earlier this month after accusing him of editing a draft decree to overturn election results following his 2022 election defeat to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. They also say he pressured military chiefs to join a coup attempt and planned to jail a Supreme Court judge.

The former army officer also faces several other investigations, such as forging COVID-19 vaccination certificates and allegedly embezzling gifts from other nations, such as jewelry offered by Saudi Arabia.

Separately, hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters were also arrested and faced charges for entering and looting Brazil’s presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress on January 8, 2023, a week after Lula took office.

Bolsonaro said on Sunday he was being “persecuted” and that his draft decree was based on the constitution.

He also called for an amnesty for participants in the January 8 riots.

“What I’m looking for is pacification. It erases the past,” Bolsonaro said. “It’s about finding a way for us to live in peace and not be so nervous anymore. Amnesty for the poor people imprisoned in Brasilia. We ask all 513 congressmen and 81 senators for an amnesty law so that justice can be achieved in Brazil.”

While Bolsonaro is barred from running for office until 2030 due to two convictions for abuse of power, he remains active in Brazilian politics as the main opponent of the left-leaning Lula.

As this year’s mayoral election approaches, candidates are split between the two leaders.

Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew reported from Sao Paulo and said Bolsonaro called the rally to show his political strength.

“All these people around me, and there are thousands of them, have come to show their support for Jair Bolsonaro. They are dressed in yellow and green, the colors of Brazil. We have not seen a rally like this since the uprising on January 8, 2023,” she said.

“Bolsonaro called for this rally because he has been through a series of legal battles and is threatened with imprisonment. Bolsonaro wants to show that he is still popular and can be a kingmaker in the upcoming local elections in October.”

Bolsonaro and his supporters also waved Israeli flags at the protest, rejecting Lula’s recent comments comparing Israel’s offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust.